The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Here are three Great Phonograph Related Videos:

TALKING FURNITURE, (which covers some of the Great Collections)
The Story of Thomas A. Edison, (This was from Henry Ford Village, Dearborn, MI)
The Invention Factory, (This was from Edison's Winter Home, Fort Meyers, FL)

All are in Great Shape, and have only been viewed a few times, (VHS Format)

The price is SOLD ($20, plus $4 for USPS Media Mail Shipping).
First one to post "SOLD", gets them.
I accept PayPal "Friends & Family".

Thank You, Bob S.

Why don't you have them transferred to DVD format and then sell copies? I think a lot of people would be interested, but most of us don't have VCRs to play the tapes...

Curt A wrote:Why don't you have them transferred to DVD format and then sell copies? I think a lot of people would be interested, but most of us don't have VCRs to play the tapes...

Because that’s illegal.

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$25 plus $4 USPS Media Mail Shipping.

Bob S.

HisMastersVoice wrote:

Curt A wrote:Why don't you have them transferred to DVD format and then sell copies? I think a lot of people would be interested, but most of us don't have VCRs to play the tapes...

Because that’s illegal.

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Brandon,

I am aware of the copyright issue, but a VHS tape is an obsolete format that cannot be played by most people... Unless those titles are available on a DVD, which would obviously change the situation, I personally wouldn't worry about it. As an example, Donnie makes copies of Diamond Discs and 78s, others make copies of cylinders (all of which are also obsolete formats) in small quantities for personal use by collectors and no one seems to care..

If I own something and can make it useable AND only charge for the labor/materials of copying it, not for the content, AND it only amounts to a small number of copies for personal collector use (as opposed to retail commercial sales), I'm sure no one cares enough to prosecute... although, I may be wrong considering the current state of the FBI...

Unless I am much mistaken, under current copyright law most diamond discs and cylinders are early enough to have fallen into the public domain. Moreover, Edison's recordings are in a bit of a grey area under the doctrine of abandoned works and as works dedicated to the public thanks to their having gone to the National Park Service (Edison Historic Site). You can be very sure videos of any sort, tape or DVD or whatever, will be firmly within the protected period, as the law was amended quite some time back to extend it to a far, far distant point in the past for the purpose (conventional wisdom has it) of ensuring Mickey Mouse would not start falling into the public domain. I believe that was the Sonny Bono Act, although it could also be a function of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act--it's been rather a long time since I really followed subject.

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NOW $20 PLUS $4 USPS MEDIA MAIL SHIPPING!

Bob S.

drh wrote:Unless I am much mistaken, under current copyright law most diamond discs and cylinders are early enough to have fallen into the public domain. Moreover, Edison's recordings are in a bit of a grey area under the doctrine of abandoned works and as works dedicated to the public thanks to their having gone to the National Park Service (Edison Historic Site). You can be very sure videos of any sort, tape or DVD or whatever, will be firmly within the protected period, as the law was amended quite some time back to extend it to a far, far distant point in the past for the purpose (conventional wisdom has it) of ensuring Mickey Mouse would not start falling into the public domain. I believe that was the Sonny Bono Act, although it could also be a function of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act--it's been rather a long time since I really followed subject.

At the risk of hijacking the thread (sorry Bob!), much of the above is incorrect. I would suggest reading various internet articles about public domain, particularly as it pertains to sound recordings in the USA. You can also search my past posts for "copyright" as I have posted on this several times.

The video of Talking Furniture was produced by and its copyright is owned by Mark Ulano's company. Mark is an Academy Award winning sound engineer and head of the Cinema Audio Society. He has recently re-released in DVD format a series of phonograph documentaries he originally filmed in the VCR format. Copyright protection is important to active professional filmmakers.